Kroc Conference in South Africa Focused on Religion, Reconciliation and Peace

Some 30 peace studies scholars and practitioners gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, June 5-7 for the conference “Peace from the Ground Up: Post-conflict Socialization, Religion, and Reconciliation in Africa.”

“Peace from the Ground Up” was co-organized by the Kroc Institute’s Program on Religion & Reconciliation, directed by Kroc professor Daniel Philpott, and the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, directed by Fanie du Toit in Cape Town. The conference, which fostered mutual learning between academics and peacebuilding practitioners, convened with support from the Catholic Peacebuilding Network and the Templeton Foundation.

Conference presentations focused on the role of grassroots peacebuilding initiatives carried out by religious and cultural groups, said Philpott, professor of political science and peace studies at Notre Dame.

“During the last decade, Africa has seen a flurry of high-level political efforts to address past violence,” he said. “But after the trials and truth commissions have ended, media attention has waned, and peace agreements have been signed, an absence of violence does not automatically lead to peace.” Though political processes remain indispensible, Philpott said, civil society, especially religious groups, plays an integral role in reconciling warring parties and repairing social fabric torn apart by protracted conflict.

According to a recent Pew Forum report, Sub-Saharan Africa is the most religious region in the world, with northern Africa not far behind, Philpott said. Religion also has played an important role in peace processes because of the enterprising efforts of religious actors.

“Peace from the Ground Up” drew on the experiences of participants from 12 countries, including Australia, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, and the United States.

The conference featured keynote addresses by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a clinical psychologist and senior research professor of trauma, forgiveness and reconciliation at the University of Free State, and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of the Diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria.

Other conference participants included:

Rev. William Headley, CSSp, founding dean, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego

A. Rashied Omar, research scholar of Islamic studies and peacebuilding, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

Lyn Graybill, author, Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: Miracle or Model? and Religion and Resistance Politics in South Africa

Rev. Elias Omondi Opongo, S.J., Director of the Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations